"If love could have saved him, he would have lived forever," Angels of Assisi posted to Facebook on Thursday afternoon. "Thank you all for the outpouring of support sent his way."

"Try as we might, Ferdinand never gained any strength or movement in his back legs," Angels of Assisi wrote in a blog post, "Radiographs did not shed any light on what could be wrong, and as time passed the realization that he was not going to walk again slowly and painfully sunk in. Acceptance is indeed a small, quiet room."

Angels of Assisi wrote a heartfelt blog documenting the story of Ferdinand that can be read here.

During his recovery, Ferdinand went by many names, "Ferdinand the Bull" and "Ferdinand the Strong."

If love could have saved him, he would have lived forever. An update on Ferdinand. Thank you all for the outpouring of support sent his way. You can read more on the blog.